Circle of Independent Learning: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.
Circle of Independent Learning posts 48% meeting the standard against 43% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 32% | 48% | — | 9.6% | 0.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Circle of Independent Learning scores 47 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 62nd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🤝 Culture First — Ask whether the low absenteeism and suspension numbers come from what the school does or from the community it serves — both can produce the same numbers, and only a visit tells you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “48% proficient” and call it done. Circle of Independent Learning deserves a closer read. The school sits in Fremont, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 9.6% chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.
As a charter, Circle of Independent Learning enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.
The seven-year arc
Slipped from the 94th to the 62nd percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 48% meet the standard today, versus 69% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | — | 73% | 53% | 50% | — |
| Grade 4 | — | 42% | 58% | 62% | 57% |
| Grade 5 | 71% | 79% | — | 68% | 62% |
| Grade 6 | 82% | 62% | 31% | 33% | 70% |
| Grade 7 | 67% | 56% | 47% | 44% | 47% |
| Grade 8 | 62% | 58% | 30% | 67% | 43% |
| Grade 11 | 59% | 61% | 55% | 46% | 67% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | — | 73% | 53% | 43% | — |
| Grade 4 | — | 23% | 42% | 38% | 43% |
| Grade 5 | 67% | 32% | — | 53% | 31% |
| Grade 6 | 77% | 71% | 38% | 17% | 50% |
| Grade 7 | 64% | 47% | 39% | 26% | 21% |
| Grade 8 | 62% | 33% | 26% | 36% | 33% |
| Grade 11 | 38% | 37% | 30% | 18% | 51% |
The 4 things our score weighs
Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Circle of Independent Learning in Fremont, 42.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 48.4% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Circle of Independent Learning trails its district average for low-income students by 6.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (24.6% Math proficient); Asian students (66.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 16.9 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 66 students tested.
9 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
Circle of Independent Learning serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here, with no school-to-school transitions.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$22 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
On the state's science test (CAST), 39% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Circle of Independent Learning a good elementary school?
What are Circle of Independent Learning's CAASPP test scores?
How does Circle of Independent Learning rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Circle of Independent Learning?
How does Circle of Independent Learning compare to other schools in Fremont?
How does Circle of Independent Learning serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 71
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 70
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 73
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 4 | 14 | 43% | 14% | 29% | 14% | 57% | +12 |
| Grade 5 | 13 | 46% | 15% | 15% | 23% | 62% | +14 |
| Grade 6 | 30 | 20% | 50% | 13% | 17% | 70% | +23 |
| Grade 7 | 19 | 5% | 42% | 21% | 32% | 47% | −0 |
| Grade 8 | 40 | 20% | 23% | 20% | 38% | 43% | −4 |
| Grade 11 | 55 | 47% | 20% | 22% | 11% | 67% | +20 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 4 | 14 | 14% | 29% | 43% | 14% | 43% | +1 |
| Grade 5 | 13 | 23% | 8% | 31% | 38% | 31% | −5 |
| Grade 6 | 30 | 30% | 20% | 20% | 30% | 50% | +15 |
| Grade 7 | 19 | 0% | 21% | 32% | 47% | 21% | −13 |
| Grade 8 | 40 | 28% | 5% | 8% | 60% | 33% | +0 |
| Grade 11 | 53 | 30% | 21% | 21% | 28% | 51% | +28 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 106 | 14% | 25% | 50% | 11% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 66 | 42.4% | −6 | +4 |
| Asian | 69 | 66.7% | −18 | −8 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 24 | 45.8% | +8 | +7 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle of Independent Learning ← | — | 47 | 31.6% | 48.1% | — | 0.6% |
| Lila Bringhurst Elementary | 3.5 mi | 77 | 58.4% | 79.7% | +5.6 | 0.3% |
| Harvey Green Elementary | 2.3 mi | 70 | 49.6% | 75.8% | +1.4 | 1.0% |
| Niles Elementary | 2.7 mi | 67 | 50.1% | 75.3% | −6.4 | 3.0% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 74 | 94 | #349 | 47.6% | 69.0% | 4.4% | 0.1% | — |
| 2022 | 42 | 64 | #2094 | 21.3% | 53.5% | 6.2% | 0.0% | -17.5pp |
| 2023 | 62 | 86 | #785 | 37.1% | 51.7% | 8.0% | 0.1% | — |
| 2024 | 56 | 78 | #1276 | 32.5% | 52.3% | 8.3% | 0.4% | +14.1pp |
| 2025 | 47 | 62 | #2175 | 31.6% | 48.1% | 9.6% | 0.6% | — |
- — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 6.0% | 3.2% | -2.8pp |
| Male | 1.9% | 6.6% | +4.7pp |
| Asian | 0.6% | 1.4% | +0.8pp |
| Black/African American | 25.0% | 8.7% | -16.3pp |
| White | 0.0% | 9.1% | +9.1pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.1% | 6.1% | +1.0pp |
| Two or More Races | 9.5% | 18.8% | +9.3pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 3.8% | 3.5% | -0.3pp |
| English Learners | 2.0% | 6.4% | +4.4pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 8.2% | 8.1% | -0.1pp |
| All Students | 3.9% | 4.9% | +1.0pp |
| Homeless | — | 16.7% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction